Saturday, February 10, 2018

They’re making the city an offer it can’t refuse.
A Brooklyn supermarket that a Gambino family mobster owned and his son
now runs wants $4 million in tax breaks to build condos and a new
grocery store.
Tapps Supermarkets, which operates a Key Food at 575 Grand St. in
Williamsburg, has applied to the city’s Industrial Development Agency
for building- and sales-tax exemptions. In its application, Tapps
describes itself as a “family-owned supermarket” hoping to build a
six-story mixed-use tower at the Grand St. site.
Records show Tapps has been owned by Pasquale "Patsy" Conte, who
federal prosecutors said was a supermarket mogul and a captain in mob
king John Gotti’s crime family. Conte was sentenced to seven and a half
years in prison in 1994 for conspiring to murder a construction
contractor who had disrespected Gotti. He admitted that he helped to
arrange the hit on the contractor, whose shot-up body was found in a
World Trade Center garage in 1990.
He was sentenced to another three and a half years in the clink in 2001 for a racketeering charge. He was released in 2003.
It’s unclear if the 92-year-old gangster grocer still owns a piece of Tapps, which operates seven supermarkets in the city.
But federal court records show that Conte had a 23.9% stake in Tapps in
1995. His son — who has never been accused of being involved with the
mob — and other relatives also owned shares in the company at the time.
A 2008 property record also shows Conte and his family had real estate
holdings tied to 575 Grand St. A person who answered the phone at Tapps’
office on Tuesday declined to comment.

Conte’s son, Pasquale Conte Jr., submitted an application for the tax
breaks under the Food Retail Expansion to Support Health program, which
aims to get supermarkets to expand stores in underserved communities.
Tapps’ application says that the subsidies would ultimately benefit the
city as it would generate an estimated $6.28 million in direct and
indirect taxes.
It plans to build 118,000 square feet of condo space and 98,000 square
feet of affordable housing. Tapps would open a new supermarket on the
ground floor and basement of the building, according to the application.
The supermarket would allows Tapps to hire three more full-time
employees and six part-timers.
The application says Tapps plans on starting the demolition on the existing building next month.
The Economic Development Corporation, which runs the Industrial
Development Agency, said anyone can apply for the tax benefits but must
be vetted.
EDC said Tapps has met the initial requirements for a public hearing on
the benefits — which will be held Thursday. However, the agency said it
is still completing its due diligence on the firm and awaiting
additional documentation.
Conte Jr. — who is Tapps’ vice president and treasurer — and Tapps’
lawyer, Steven Polivy, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.